Who's On Provence Post Now?

Saturday, July 11, 2009

The New York Times seems to be writing a lot about France these days, particularly Provence. Here's the latest, a "36 Hours In..." feature about Aix. It appears online today and will be in print tomorrow. Read it by clicking here. And don't miss the slideshow.

Above: The morning market at Place Richelme in Aix. Photo by Christophe Margot for The New York Times.

Hi Julie, Thanks so much for your blog! The NY Times article on Aix was OK, nothing brilliant but will give 1st time visitors a quick sense of the place. I do take issue with their recommendation of the bistro Chez Feraud. I recently arrived for lunch at 1:40pm, granted pushing the 2pm limit for lunch in most of southern France, and the Maitre waved me away saying that they closed at 1:30pm. Now, the dining room was still about half full, some guests were even having appetizers, the front door was wide open, etc., etc. They werent even kind enough to show me, obviously a visitor from abroad, to another restaurant. It's as if my coming in 10 minutes past their "closing" time was an affront to decency and Western civilization. This peculiar posture -- both close-minded and rude -- summarizes a mercifully long gone provincial attitude at its worst. While I did find several "open" restaurants just a couple of blocks away, and had a leisurely meal right into 4pm, I wont be going back to Chez Feraud any time soon.